Revamped coverage is almost worth all that anxious waiting
Well, after the darkness comes the light. The debut of ESPN as host for Premier League soccer has been a revelation so far. ESPN's takeover of the Asian rights to the EPL may have followed a discreditable stalemate in which Hong Kong viewers felt like insignificant pawns, but now that the season is up and running we are finally getting the quality service that we should expect.
The production values are immeasurably up from what we had become used to. We now are getting pre-game shows, half-time and full-time analysis, even interviews with players and managers involved in the action. This really is a whole new ball game. The magazine shows Here We Go and Premier League Highlights are top notch, too.
With match day presenter John Dykes hosting, the studio element could now become an essential part of the football watching experience. Those of us with STAR satellite have become familiar with Dykes and his sidekick Jamie Reeves from the taped Champions' League matches shown on that channel over the past two years while ESPN was off the air in the SAR.
They have a very good rapport going. Former Malaysian international Shebby Singh slots in nicely to Reeve's expert analyst role, too. But good as they are, what really gives weight to the match day programming has been the presence of Joe Royle. Here we have a big name, a recognisable face and an astute analyst. Royle's misfortune in being shunted by Manchester City could prove to be Asian fans' blessing.
On the midweek games ESPN took the Sky half-time feed directly, meaning two doses of George Graham who, like Royle, is another temporarily out of work manager. One thing that ESPN needs to ditch quickly, however, is the terribly misconceived interview with bar patrons in Bangkok. That serves no useful purpose whatsoever. Let's have interviews with Michael Owen or David Beckham instead.
This week's Premier League fare features Arsenal v Leicester, Aston Villa v Man Utd, Newcastle v Sunderland and Bolton v Liverpool (all live on ESPN) plus West Ham v Leeds live on STAR pay TV (that is, the encrypted version of STAR carried on i-CABLE Channel 5). Of those, the northeast derby match from St James's Park and Villa's clash with the champions jump out as the must-watch games.
